Thursday March 20, 2008
For Immediate release:
Louisville Metro Council
Contact: Tony Hyatt 574-4137/526-3622
Under the leadership of Councilwoman Vicki Aubrey Welch (D) 13, the Louisville Metro Council has met a goal of providing better health care to residents who live in Southwest Jefferson County by helping purchase state of the art technology for women’s health.
“This effort will go a long way in providing a needed service to women in the South and Southwest area of Louisville Metro,” said Councilwoman Vicki Aubrey Welch (D) 13. “I am proud to organize this effort with other members of the Council to help Jewish/ St. Mary’s provide better health care. As a Registered Nurse in our community for 32 years, I know the importance of this highly technical equipment in prevention and early detection of diseases such as breast cancer and osteoporosis.”
Welch began the initial effort to purchase the equipment. She and Councilman Rick Blackwell (D) 12 provided $10,000 each in Neighborhood Development Funds to purchase DIGITAL Mammography and Bone Density equipment. Council members Doug Hawkins (R) provided $7,200, Marianne Butler (D) 15 $2,000 and Bob Henderson (D) 14; Dan Johnson (D) 21 and Madonna Flood (D) 24 are giving $1,000 each.
“It is exciting to partner with Jewish and St. Mary’s to provide the best diagnostic equipment available,” said Blackwell. “Our community has high cancer rates and I am happy to do everything I can to improve our numbers.”
On Thursday, March 13th, the remaining members of the Metro Council contributed funds to reach the $50,000 goal for purchasing the equipment. Officials with Jewish and St. Mary’s began scheduling patients to use the equipment this month.
“I want to thank the Metro Council for helping me and the women of southwest Jefferson County, “said Welch. “This shows how caring government can be when addressing an important need for women and their families.”
To learn more about Jewish & St. Mary’s programs, go to: http://www.jhsmh.org/healthnetwork/medcentersouthwest.html
Here is a list of Council members who contributed Neighborhood Development Funds toward the purchase of digital mammography equipment and bone mineral density equipment for Jewish/ St. Mary’s at Southwest Hospital:
Vicki Aubrey Welch (D) 13 $10,000
Rick Blackwell (D) 12 $10,000
Doug Hawkins (R) 25 $7,200
Marianne Butler (D) 15 $2,000
James Peden (R) 23 $2,000
Dan Johnson (D) 21 $1,800
Bob Henderson (D) 14 $1,000
Madonna Flood (D) 24 $1,000
Judith Green (D) 1 $1,000
Barbara Shanklin (D) 2 $1,000
Mary C. Woolridge (D) 3 $1,000
David Tandy (D) 4 $1,000
Cheri Bryant Hamilton (D) 5 $1,000
George Unseld (D) 6 $1,000
Ken Fleming (R) 7 $1,000
Tina Ward-Pugh (D) 9 $1,000
Jim King (D) 10 $1,000
Kelly Downard (D) 16 $1,000
Glen Stuckel (R) 17 $1,000
Julie Raque Adams (R) 18 $1,000
Stuart Benson (R) 20 $1,000
Robin Engel (R) 22 $1,000
Ellen Call (R) 26 $1,000